New to rockwool..Help!

Hey folks! Im not too new to growing, but new to rockwool. Ive had a really hard time lately with my clones. I've been attempting to grow in red part cups cut in half with plain dirt, use Dip n Grow, and had the clones on 24 hours light with a humidity tent under 3 100W CFLs. I never had any problems until recently. I think about 200 clones died all together. My light bulbs kept dying on me (and I live in a small town so they're hard to come by) so I said fuck it and bought a hood with 2 2 foot T5 flourecents. A few would grow but they were weak. I never watered them directly..only a little through the bottom and sprayed them with plain water once a day.

Ive been getting frustrated but I don't want to give up. Especially because my outdoor season is approaching and need TONS of clones. I decided to get some rockwool and a new rooting hormone- Rootech. Here's my question- is all I do cut the clone, dip in the rootech, and stick it in the rockwool? I also don't really know what to do once the cutting has rooted. Do I just plant the hole thing in dirt? My vegging and flowering plants are all grown in dirt so I want to stick with that until I learn more. Does the rockwool just disintegrate into the dirt? I need some help and fast!!

On a better note...I REALLY LOVE the T5 lights. I have about 6 mothers under it right now and they look great. They are growing bushy rather than the plants I grow under my HID. Those tend to get a little lanky even though I put my light as close as possible without burning the foliage. Not that my HID is great, I love that too, but how do I get my plants to get bushy? Any advice on anything will be great!


And on and even BETTER note...Im about 4-5 weeks away from harvesting 16 big beautiful girls! They look awesomeeee right now and I cant wait to toke em up!

OK so any help you can offer I would greatly appreciate!! +reps for any good help!


Thanks everyone!

I've put RW in dirt with no problems although it won't disintegrate. The clones won't root until the RW dried out a bit. I cut, then dip, then stick into presoaked RW. Wait a few days to a week till they perk-up, then let the RW start to dry out. Ideally the RW should be moist without being drippy. I'm glad you like the T5 flouro, I love mine. The bushy growth is due to the light, you can't really get the same results with a HID lamp.

Hey thanks cannatari!! DEF +reps for that! I'll update and let you know how things go. Im only going to take a few clones tonite just to see how they do!

Happy growing!

Best of yeilds.

Just my opinion, but you "should" be able to put the rooted rockwool clones into dirt. Once they start growing, they will just push themselves out of the rockwool.